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| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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Tete-a-tete with Nirupama Menon Rao Having held positions in organisations dedicated to promoting Indo-Lankan friendship for over two decades, it has been my good fortune to know at some proximity serving Indian High Commissioners in Colombo - 6 in the past seventeen years.
They were able, learned men with distinctive approaches and styles dealing with sensitive and complex matters - quintessential diplomats. But meeting Nirupama Menon Rao is a new experience - for she is the first woman Indian High Commissioner here. Calm, elegantly dressed, smiling pleasantly and totally free of airs, she puts you completely at ease instantly. She is the envoy of the largest democracy in the world, a country with a population in excess of 1,200 million an agricultural and economic power house. In the words of Microsoft multi-billionaire Bill Gates 'The country that provides much of the creative genius to the computer world of inventor-engineers' And so some space for 'air' may be in order. But no. My first predictable question is answered in the affirmative 'Yes'. I was here earlier as First Secretary (Agreements) and that's when I saw and was impressed with your smiling and friendly people. The beautiful, verdant landscape - all wrapped up within a few hundred miles and a few hours by road, a veritable tropical paradise." The language of a lady of letters indeed. Discussion The discussion proceeds to the commonalities in our ancient history, culture and the fact we are, after all, people from the same stock. She takes pain to insist in spite of the disproportion in size, economic and other strengths both countries are equal partners in their relationship. There is a total and deliberate absence of the 'big-brother' attitude. Demonstrating her simplicity further she picks up some cashew-nuts served with the tea and places the spiced kernels on my tray. I remark the cashew nuts are from Kerala, a State common to both of us. She tells me she comes from Calicut and enquiries of my Kerala roots. I tell her through my Achchan (father) mentioned the Trichur area, he came to then Ceylon as a boy and lost much touch by the time we grew to be enquiring teens. I tell her my Kerala connections gained a fresh start, when I married a Keralite, whose parents came from Kottayam and Thiruvella. The High Commissioner recalls having done some study about the Kerala community here during her last stay and has learnt of the several tens of thousands of workers in the Railways, the Colombo Port and the British Mercantile establishments, the contribution made by the Malayalees at the fledging stage of our trade union movement. Also of the teachers, doctors, accountants from Kerala many of them absorbed into the wider Sri Lankan family. She enthusiastically adds apart from the similarities of landscape, common culinary features, dress habits and sometimes names of persons all go to establish the bond between Kerala and Sri Lanka. We move on to matters more contemporary - and, admittedly somewhat sensitive. I comment that her predecessors - notably the last four helped greatly reduce the tensions of the late 80s between the two countries which one - the eloquent Mehrotra described as 'temporary muddy patches in our ancient fraternal ties' I express the hope Sri Lanka might eventually find that 'elusive light at the end of the tunnel' during her tenure. She laughs and says "I very much hope so. But please remember this, the Indian government will do everything within its power to help Sri Lanka regain her peace. We want to see a strong and united Sri Lanka. That is what my predecessors did and that is what I will do and what those who follow me will. From the beginning of this unfortunate civil conflict, India has been consistently unwavering, in spite of changes of the guard of differing political persuasions in New Delhi, in her irrevocable commitment to a united Sri Lanka" she maintains. We then shift to matters in the personal domain. She enquirs of my children and upon learning my daughter graduated from Stella Maris in Madras - with an English Literature major, she is pleased that she had taken to poetry. The glow in her face gives away her tremendous love for poetry - her chosen fondness. She presents me with a copy of her publication of delightful poems - very eloquently titled 'Rain Rising' Once again illustrating her natural simplicity she says 'Let me make an inscription on my book for your daughter" and proceeds to autograph it. We discuss poetry, English writers in India and the development of English language in the former colony. She comments that for Sri Lanka's small size, she has herself done well in the promotion of the English language by producing several writers and poets of international recognition. We discuss her days at Harvard and I reminded her of my reading the immortal American poet H.W. Longfellow was Professor of Modern Languages at this famed institution of higher learning. Signalling her own familiarity with the subject, she refers to Longfellow's visit to England where he was the guest of Charles Dickens (1868) When Longfellow - so fastitudious to his personal appearance compared to the carelessly attired Dickens - returned to America. Dickens, the High Commissioner laughingly says, wrote thus 'McDowall, the bookmaker, Beale, the hosier, Laffin, the trouser-maker, and Blackmore, the coat-cutter have all been at the point of death, but have slowly recovered. The medical gentleman agreed that it was exhaustion occasioned by early rising - to wait upon you at those unholy hours." Major role In her book she refers to a question as to why she writes poetry and her answer 'I do not know why I write poetry. Somewhere along life's journey poetry became my avenue of expression - and, as I travelled along it, my creative urge awoke". Surely, an envoy with a welcome orientation to literature and the gentler things in life. India has a pivotal role to play in bringing back Sri Lanka from the brink of disintegration. There is now, more than ever before, a greater appreciation among those in our political helm to consult India, judging by the increasing frequency of their Delhi sojourns. India has done well to also recognise the gender factor in the choice of their envoy to deal with the Sri Lankan Head of State. The unassuming, humane and cultured Nirupama Menon Rao, I am confident, will take the search for our peace many steps forward - a task which her illustrious predecessor laboured hard for - to the applause and satisfaction of both the people and governments of India and Sri Lanka. - A. Kandappah |
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